STARGIRL

thirty.

"It's bio-formed," Nebula explained over comms, and Eleanor shuddered at her mental image of the planet. She was glad that she couldn't see it, "Instead of being built, it's grown from living matter. The structure is surrounded by three impenetrable plasmic security shields. It's not going to be easy to break into this place, Star-Lord."

"Doesn't have to be easy," replied Peter, as he, Eleanor, Mantis and Drax walked down the hallway towards an important room, "I was a professional thief before and after my daughter was born, remember?"

Eleanor was now the same age that Peter was when he became her dad. He had sternly told her to not have any kids yet. She was disgusted when he had that talk with her though she enjoyed laughing at his distraught expression trying to explain everything to her.

"I'll jam the signals one at a time," he switched off the comms and turned to the other three, "She calls me Star-Lord when she's mad at me."

"She's always mad at everyone." Mantis replied, putting the key in and twisting it for the first machine.

Drax slowly handed Eleanor a Zarg-Nut. She thanked him quietly, and the two popped one in their mouths simultaneously.

"It's okay," Mantis smiled at Peter, "He's your best friend."

"Second best friend." Drax added.

"Everyone around me dies," Peter started to sound very unhappy, "My mother, Yondu, Gamora."

"Not me though, Dad," Eleanor wrapped her arms around his stomach and pressed the side of her head into his back, "You've kept me alive for eighteen years."

"Yeah? You died that one time when Thanos clicked."

Eleanor rolled her eyes, "So did you!"

"Gamora isn't dead." Mantis interrupted.

Drax poked himself between the two, "She is to us. You want a Zarg-Nut?" he held the packet out for Peter and he took some. He then held the packet at Eleanor and she took one. Mantis frowned at the bag and up at Drax.

"First shield set." Peter told Nebula.

"Peter." Mantis said sternly as they walked to the second machine.

"What?"

"You had family on Earth, and you never wanted to go back to see them?" questioned Mantis.

"No, you're my sister," Peter replied, "and my daughter is here with us. That's all the family I want or need. Besides, it was really just my grandpa, okay? He was a pretty hard guy."

"Still," said Mantis, "Don't you think he..."

"What?"

"You were abducted by Ravagers the same day he lost his daughter," Mantis said, "and he's never met Eleanor before." Eleanor heard her name and gave a wave.

"Oh, yeah, he was upset," Peter replied, annoyed, "My mom died, he screamed in my face, he pushed me out the room!"

Eleanor frowned, "He was probably just trying to protect you, Dad," she said, "If you died I'd rather not be in the same room as your body."

"What are you talking about?"

"What?"

"I'm talking about the people in my life who died, and you and Mantis are talking about this?"

Eleanor shrugged, taking another Zarg-Nut.

"Second shield set."

Mantis started to speak as they headed to the third and final machine, "I'm only saying, you've never even gone to see if he's okay. He could still be alive."

"My grandpa?" questioned Peter, "He'd be, like, ninety-something years old."

Mantis turned to look at him, "So he could still be alive."

"People on Earth die when they're, like, fifty."

"They die when they're fifty?" Mantis said, sounding distraught, "What's even the point of being born?"

"Exactly!"

"Are you about to die?"

He stared at her with his mouth open, "I'm not fifty?"

Eleanor gave a slightly scared snort of laughter, "You're close, old man."

Peter gave her a look, "The point is, I wasn't talking about any of this. Third shield set."

The group started to walk back to the main area. "Well, not everything is about what you are talking about. And I'm only saying you are upset because so many of the people you cared about have left you... but you also left someone," Mantis said, and she glared at Drax, "And maybe I wanted a Zarg-Nut!"

The small lift started to go up, "It's too late. They're all gone." Drax replied and Mantis stared down sadly. He put another in his mouth and started to chew. Mantis gave him a look that would've sent him six feet under.

The lift started to rattle and the electricity zipped. Eleanor stepped her footing out a little to balance herself, standing on her dad's foot in the process but he didn't complain. Peter held the comms up to his mouth, "Why didn't we go through?"

"We did," Nebula's voice came through the speakers, "It's not the shield."

The group of four got to the end of the hallway that led to the main room. Peter looked out the front window with his jaw dropped slightly open, "Aww, hell," that caused Eleanor to look, "Ravagers."

"Hey, guys," a really cheerful sounding voice took over the speaker and Eleanor wanted to rip her own ears off, "You're about to be boarded by the United Ravagers. You can surrender and turn over any stuff worth anything and live... or you can die. Totes up to you."

A red alien climbed through a portal and started to make others so more Ravagers could get onto the ship. They cocked their guns at the group and Peter stopped Drax from fighting them.

"Guys, it's me!" Peter yelled, "Peter Quill, me and Els are one of you, remember?"

"Hold on!" Nebula yelled, as she and Groot ran down the hallway, "We have an appointment!"

"We have an appointment." Peter copied.

"With who?" asked one of the Ravagers.

"With Gamora." replied Nebula.

"With Gamora." Peter copied, and then he looked at Nebula, "What?"

Gamora's voice came from the back of the crowd, "You're early."

Eleanor's heart dropped at the sound of her voice and it fell even further when the green woman pushed her way through the crowd to the front. Eleanor wasn't completely at peace with the original Gamora's death so the fact there was another one walking around who didn't remember anything and didn't even bother to try to felt like a cruel joke to her. She had spent many nights waking up sweaty and shaking about dreaming about the different ways Thanos could have killed Gamora to get the orange stone.

That stupid orange stone.